Actual Mega Man Legends staffers are helping on this project
The campaign to resurrect Mega Man Legends 3 won’t die, and I honestly hope it never does. The fans continue to surprise me with the myriad ways they demonstrate support, from producing a concept album to launching a replica of Roll and Tron’s rescue rocket.
I guess the next logical step is to make a game.
At the Mega Rock Fan Fiesta, a Mega Man fan event held this past Saturday in Shibuya, Tokyo, the “Get Me Off the Moon” Facebook group announced an awesome new joint project with the group’s Japanese equivalent, the Rockman DASH 3 Reboot Team. Since Capcom decided not to release the completed Mega Man Legends 3: Protoype Version on eShop, these two groups will simply remake it and release it online for free. Or rather I should say, they will demake it.
But this is not your typical fan production. They’ve actually got two former Capcom staffers to on board: Hideki Ishikawa and Makoto Tomozawa, character designer and composer for the Legends series, respectively. Ishikawa will create the game’s box art, while Tomozawa will contribute a couple of songs to the soundtrack. That is… just… wow.
As you can see from the trailer above, production is already well underway. As in Prototype, you assume the role of newcomer Barrett as he takes on various missions about town. Despite the game’s adopting the classic NES Mega Man look, Barrett will retain his wide range of abilities, such as ledge climbing, lock-on shooting, and volcano kicking.
A demo for the game is planned for release in the next week or two, with the final release tentatively scheduled for August, so you won’t have to wait long to take it for a spin. Further development will rely on donations, however, the details of which are listed here. And if you choose to donate $50 or more, you will receive a physical copy of the game — with Ishikawa’s art on the box, of course!
Regardless of the ultimate quality of this 8-bit Legends 3 Prototype, or even the fact that it’s in the 8-bit style — some people are admittedly tired of the NES look — I’m amazed by the lengths everyone involved is willing to go. East and West working together? Industry pros lending a hand? Even the support of Capcom VP Christian Svensson, thus putting the brakes on cries of “Capcom is going to C&D this”?
I’d say this deserves a hearty round of respectful applause.
“secret GMOTM project!” [Facebook via The Mega Man Network]
